[PRP] Letter of the Law (Lattice & Needle)

[Pales]

It had been a good and sort of peaceful time here at the Academy. Her experiences here she wouldn't trade for the world (though in her darkest hours she came close). Needle and her had a new connection - they no longer held resentment to each other because they were both treated equally and not used against each other, they were finally able to be truly close and not because of fear.

Then the letter came in the mail.

You have been in the world long enough to suffice. You must return to the clan.

The letters may as well have been enchanted with blazing bright ink to her vision. She couldn't even close her eyes to dispel it. Did Needle get a similar letter? She got up and wandered toward the door that joined their room and firmly tapped on the door, "N..Needle? Are you at home?"

Please be home. They needed to talk about this.

Enoh Love

 

[Enoh Love]

In the next room, at nearly the same moment, Needle was reading her own copy of the letter. She only had to read it once to know that the sixteen words on the paper was a death sentence waiting to happen. If she obeyed, she would have to say good bye to Muka and the rest of the world. If she refused, she would lose her only stable home, family, and at the very least? Her arms.

The knock on their shared door made her look up, turning her masked face towards it, and the nervous voice on the other side. Lattice must have gotten one too: of course they would send one to each of them. The clan always played one against the other. It was how they operated, and it was how they had kept them both in line for years.

What would Lattice make of this? Things between them had changed drastically since their arrival…but would that all go out the window with this new development?

"I am." She acknowledged after a moment, and turned towards the door to open it. In her other hand was her own copy of the letter, but all she could offer was a little: "You sound upset, sister. Are you alright?"

pales

 

[Pales]

"Ye...No." She couldn't lie to her twin. Lattice had considered it only because she didn't want to worry Needle, but she also knew better. She held up her copy of the letter with a light frown crossing over her lips. "What are we to do about this?"

Her initial reaction was to crumple it up and pretend it never came, but she couldn't do that anymore than she could lie to her Sister.

"I...I once would have gone back, but now I ..." The sense of freedom, friends, everything had drained all of the duty out of her it seemed - at least duty she once would have felt toward her clan. She felt like a traitor.

Maybe she was a traitor.

Enoh Love

 

[Enoh Love]

"Do about what, dear one?" Needle purred softly, pitching her voice as though she had no cares in the world. Lattice was continuing on, and though she listened, she took the opportunity to gently pluck the crumpled paper from her hands.

Then, as casually as she could manage, she made her way towards the little shrine against one wall, and introduced the corners of both papers to the open flame. Once they both caught, she settled the flaming pieces on a solid dish, and let them crumble to ash.

"Have you been having nightmares?" She asked, her voice drawing with worry.

pales

 

[Pales]

On one hand? Lattice knew what was happening. She knew it and she let it happen. From taking the letter from her to letting her twin just set them aflame.

It was like a relief. A quiet happy relief that washed through her, but it didn't last long. Behind her mask her eyes widened a bit and her mouth fell open, "Yes actually! But.. you just...!"

Just what? Can't they just pretend a little.

"Needle," she tried to sound more serious before the flout of irresponsibility could wash away with her entirely, "they'll send someone."

Or would they? Couldn't they just hide? "They'll find us," she answered the thought verbally, though her Twin would doubtlessly know what Lattice was getting to.

Enoh Love

 

[Enoh Love]

Lattice wouldn't let it go. Of course she wouldn't. How could she have expected anything else? Needle gave a small sigh, but didn't turn towards her twin. Instead she watched the cindering mess of the letters, fizzling out in the bowl.

"Not right away." She pointed out quietly. They would send someone once they realized their letter summons were ignored…but that would be a few days from now. "We have a few days…and then we play stupid." The saying was a little off, but it was close enough. They had some time to get their affairs in order. They could pack once someone came to claim them. There was time. Once it was clear the letters were no more, she poured a little bit of water into the bowl, making sure that nothing about it was recognizable.

"I have not heard from home in a while." She mused after a moment of silence.

Pales

 

[Pales]

She wished she could let it go. Her being wavered in and out of vision for a few seconds as her ability to maintain solidity became questionable.

"I just ... Don't want them to take everything away," She murmured with an actual bit of a mournful tone to her voice. Lattice used to be so good at maintaining her emotions and now that was slowly unraveling bit by bit.

Her head tilted downward, "I'll try to play stupid, Sister, but I might disappoint you." Maybe they'll find her Sister first and she can play stupid for the both of them. Lattice would have to do it silently and hopefully not erupt with truth like a horrible volcano of secrets during the face off.

Enoh Love

 

[Enoh Love]

Needle tilted her head a little bit, watching through her mask as her sister began to unravel. Seeing her panic was not something she was new to seeing: there had been a few times in the past where worry ate away until her training started to go out the window. They were few and far between, but they existed. This however, was a more intense unraveling. She had yet to see Lattice panic this badly. It was like she was giving up over a piece of paper.

"You are going to give them the option?" She questioned, sounding surprised. "They will not be taking anything from me." For now, she avoided the comment about being disappointed. As if she could ever be.

pales

 

[Pales]

Her Sister's words were sort of like a slap without actually being a physical slap. She calmed in almost an instant and simply said "No."

She didn't want to give them the option but, "They always seemed so much larger and more powerful than us, how are we to stop them?" It was hard to foresee a future when something so ominous loomed over her thoughts and memories.

It was hard to foresee fighting something with years of tradition and followers behind it.

"Do you think they can be reasoned with?" Lattice could try. Lattice wanted to try.

Enoh Love

 

[Enoh Love]

"We were much weaker then." Needle fully believed this to be true; they had been brainwashed, and believed the world to be one way, when in reality it was many. They had faced stronger foes since then, and had survived them all; the only downside, was that they would be grossly outnumbered. It was not a situation that she was keen on, but even she clung to the ray of hope that they were better trained.

The idea of using reason made her pause as if she hadn't considered it.

"I…suppose that would be an option." She didn't sound entirely convinced. Then again, reasoning wasn't a refined skill of hers, but perhaps Lattice could... The soggy, burnt remains of the papers were given one final look before she crossed the room and settled down on her little cot, gathering her skirt around her to make it more comfortable.

"I estimate that we have a few days to prepare." Her voice was low with the gravity of the situation. "We can try reason first…but I think we should prepare an escape route." Which was her forte. "…And backup." Which would potentially be their connections here, including Muka and Petro.

pales

 

[Pales]

It felt almost strange to have Needle be the rational one, but Lattice went along with it because that was all she contemplate at the moment, "Yes. Yes we were," she felt a little emboldened by that fact. Slowly but surely she was getting built back up after the letter had knocked the wind out of her sails and partially sank the boat of self confidence she'd tenuously tried to build up on her own.

"Yes prepa--," oh wait back up? She glanced over at her room where Petro often spent time with her and made a small frown, "Does the backup include Petro? I am afraid he is away at the moment, Sister. I may have to write him a note during my preparations if that is the case."

She had no other way to really reach him otherwise. It tore at her, but in that same moment she felt relief. Petro would be safe when he wasn't with them and trying to escape. As much of a comfort as it would be with her bonded there... "What all do we need to do to prepare, Sister?" Lattice asked, refusing to lose focus.

Enoh Love

 

[Enoh Love]

"Pity." Needle's lips pressed into a thin line once more, as she mentally counted out Petro. It would be a shame to not have him on their side during this, but she understood why he was away. She hoped, at the very least, that they could still rely on Muka, and the small handful of friends they had made in the span here. "A letter would be good. Perhaps he could get back in time." That was, of course, assuming that Lattice would invite him along, should he return from his travels promptly.

When questioned about preparing, Needle once more paused, and then let out a small sigh.

"I must confess that I have been been preparing for this inevitability." Once she realized what she had to lose by going back, she had started to think about it. She thought she had until graduation, but a part of her worried that it would come much sooner. "I know many escape routes out of the manor, and plenty other places to hide if necessary…but I think first we should figure out what we have to work with. Who would be willing to help us, for example." Her head bowed, and she focused on her purple fingers, and the way she was picking at the fabric of her long skirt. After a long moment of thought, she turned her head to look at her twin once more.

"Perhaps you can prepare your reasoning skills. The clan has always listened to your sound advice." Over that of her own, which were discredited as being too emotional to matter. "You may yet be able to convince them to allow us to stay in the outside world."

Pales

 

[Pales]

"Yes. A pity," she agreed quietly. Lattice furrowed her brow a little and almost mentioned that she was going to advise him not to come after her, but she also began to realize - the longer she thought about him - how pointless that was. She simply hoped they'd be back before he returned and she could just burn the letter before he ever saw it. Lattice also hoped the letter wouldn't upset him too badly. So many thoughts rushing through her mind.

Lattice looked down a little, "At least one of us had been preparing. I was ready to accept it until now," she seemed ashamed of that fact now. The idea that she would willingly give up her Sister or anyone at all, but most of that was based on fear of consequences.

"They usually do," she agreed with a small nod, "maybe if I point out that we'd be better suited to study the outside world as we have been? Promise to send reports?" Then again she wasn't sure her Sister would send anything in, and Lattice was going to be the last one to force her to.

Enoh Love

Sorry it took me a couple of days! I'd been unwell for a bit. ;A;

 

[Enoh Love]

"You know me." Needle joked in the wake of Lattice's admission. Her Sister was always the devoted one, and the one so willing to be bent by rules. Her opposite, no matter how similar they appeared to be. It was great that Lattice was on board though; her plans thus far hadn't included using words. It involved a lot of running, a lot of pain, and perhaps a great deal of loss and sacrifice. Words were a better alternative.

"You could try that. If that is what would keep us out of there, I will do it." If their freedom depended on her writing field reports, then come hell or high water she would write those field reports. It would be much easier than the alternative, and a lot less bloody…however unlikely, of course. She fell silent for a moment, lost in her own thoughts, before something occurred to her. Something that she hadn't put much thought into until lately, after having been around a certain pair of Reapers.

"Say that works. We are allowed to be free as long as we send field reports. What if you or I have children? If any of our offspring are Engravers and the clan found out about them, they would expect us to bring them home. Agreement or not." Especially if one was blind. Especially if there were twins. Her hands turned, and she stared at her palms. It seemed almost funny to bring up the subject of children, considering they both were rather incapable of holding them. Needle shook her head slowly, and looked back up at her twin.

"Would we be able to convince them to leave us - and whatever families we forge - alone in peace?"

pales

oh noooo i hope you feel better ;;;;;

 

[Pales]

She was busily going through everything in her head now, trying to work it out. What could she possibly tell the Elder to make them back off or agree to let them stay out in the world. "Maybe if we sell it like ... we will be a roaming clan of our own? Maybe they will accept that?" It wouldn't exactly be denouncing the Engravers would it? It would be like just making sure they get more of them just in a separate location...

At least it made sense in her panicked thoughts. She waited for her Twin to agree or disagree.

Lattice was fairly sure, no matter what, it was going to end in disappointment for someone. Probably them, but that was just her being scared and cynical.

Enoh Love